Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice Review
PG13: intense sequences of violence and action throughout, and some sensuality
Warner Bros. Pictures, Ratpac Entertainment, DC Comics, Atlas Entertainment, Cruel and Unusual Films
2 hrs and 43 Minutes (YEAH AS LONG AS A HOBBIT MOVIE)
Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Jessie Eisenberg, Laurence Fishborne, Holly Hunter, Diane Lane, Scoot McNairy, the ghost of Kevin Costner, with the dead body of Micheal Shannon, and a picture of Chris Pine
BACKSTORY: Tuesday March 22nd, I go to the screening of Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. I went on the line at 2 PM in Times Square and waited for my friend Justin [creator ofIheardthatmoviewas.com] until he came. While waiting to be let in, the male film rep comes out stating that they were ONLY accepting print out tickets and not email and Justin [who was taking me as his guest while our friend Pierre was there] was freaking out. And this was 5 minutes before they started letting the first people in the theater. So as I showed off my Superman sweater, I ran all the way to the Staples [which was 8 blocks down] to print out the ticket, but by the time I ran back the reps already gave out wristbands to Justin and Pierre and left me. Luckily behind me was my friend Musa who let me stand with him, but soon the female rep came out and said that they were checking emails and the male rep got it all wrong. So I told her my issue running 16 blocks in total because of how much they freaked me out last minute and all she said was "at least you're still gonna see the movie." Days like this I wish I was part of a critic association.
STORYLINE FROM IMDB: Fearing the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. With Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat, Doomsday, is created by Lex Luthor. It's up to Superman and Batman to set aside their differences along with Wonder Woman to stop Lex Luthor and Doomsday from destroying Metropolis.
REVIEW: Remember in 2013 at SDCC when they announced a Batman versus Superman movie and how "hyped" you were? And then those trailers came out. You were angry of how much they gave away and you know what you still have every right to be. There is a lot of flaws with this film, but in this review let's battle the good from the bad from the Rendy. Yes I am introducing a new format just for this review.
THE GOOD: One of the best things about this film is the #1 thing I heard people go batshit [no pun intended] crazy over when he was casted; Ben Affleck. I'm not gonna lie, Affleck's aged Batman with a paranoid past [like other Batmans] is a good and his brief backstory [that we see a million times] does add a bit more depth into his character. The fact Snyder goes out of his way to spend the first 15 minutes of the film showing his perception of Superman with the events of Man of Steel is.....extremely well thought out. You genuinely feel for Bruce Wayne not even Batman, but for Bruce Wayne and you get his hatred for Superman. Yes in this version Batman kills which derives from his character, but you know what I'm gonna nerd out because I did research. In the original 1939 comics Batman does kill criminals and in this film it just feels right in a way. There is an action sequence where Batman is beating up criminals and it is the best action sequence in the entire film [yeah surprising huh]. Another good thing in this film is Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. I mean come on people you're going crazy over him being Luthor. HAVE YOU SEEN GENE HACKMAN in 1978?! What I love about Eisenberg's approach to the role is that he is psychotic no doubt about it. His actions really do surprise you in a way where you genuinely go "fuck." He is Mark Zuckerberg in the Social Network with a mixture of schizophrenia and complete insanity. He does mess with Superman's head and when he does, it perfectly sets the reason why he is fighting Batman. Jeremy Irons is also a really good Alfred to a point where him being the JARVIS to Bruce faithful to Batman that we've never seen in any of the films. The effects are really good to an extent where it gives the film realism, but too much realism.
THE BAD: WELL HERE WE GO! You're ready for the flaws here's the flaws. SO this film is nearly 3 hours long. And somehow just somehow, Snyder managed to make this a beautiful jumbled mess. It's as if this film was a jigsaw puzzle and Zack Snyder is trying to put the pieces together. Granted he puts some of it in correctly, but then when there is a piece that doesn't fit, he forcefully smashes it into the puzzle set and just says TA DAH! One of the film's major problems is thatIt tries too hard to throw everything at you. I mean you have so much characters and so many scenes jumbled together that the film drags just to bring back dead characters. There is many prolonged sequences that involves ghost characters and dreams that it doesn't do much to the story. Its one to have an overabundant amount of characters, but when you're just dragging it on you'll soon fall asleep because there is just moments where things are just dull. The film tries too hard to make you believe Lois is a strong character. It tries too hard to explain how Lois is allowed to travel to places just to do "journalism" [which is just so unbelievable].
The only thing this film doesn't try hard in at all is the score. The score from Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL is really the Man of Steel score just played on repeat but with different instruments. You have Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Doomsday, and some introduction to the Justice League and I'm just thinking "wow I'm surprised they didn't throw in the kitchen sink too" then there is a moment where Batman picks up a kitchen sink and smashes it over Superman's head so I guess this film does throw everything at you including the kitchen sink. One of the best things as I said before was the talk about the destruction in Man of Steel for the sake for building up Batman but the film tries too hard to talk about political values about homeland security and some of it work but the third act [of course] is nothing but action and destruction that looks too real and it's very uncomfortable especially after the Brussells incident in Belgium there is a surprising twist that is just hard to watch. Its as if Snyder was going "oh you didn't like the destruction in Man of Steel, you guys ain't see anything yet. Sorry not sorry." My major personal problem with the movie is the action. There are great action sequences but its just slow with movement at some points and just fast in others. There's a lot of incoherent speeds with the fight scenes especially with the fight with Batman and Superman. It looks real and it looks cool, but it is very slow and not....as fun as you thought it'll be.
THE RENDY: You will nerdgasm. You will have to wait till the third act to do it but you will squeal [like a little girl even if you're a full grown man] excitement when Wonder Woman swoops down in full costume to kick ass and use her power. You do get a weird Justice League setup the same time into the film as Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced Black Panther in a way. But when it comes full circle in the end of the film you do get excited for what's in store for the Justice League in 2017 and the rest of the DC Cinematic Universe. The IMAX is fine but I don't see how this would be in 3D. Seriously the film's cinematography is dark and grim so the fact that this film being in 3D will be extremely dark. But if you ask me, personally I enjoy the film, but it doesn't have the rewatch value that something like The Avengers has. But the thing that you need to know is that this film is very similar to several DC animated films being Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, The Dark Knight Returns, and Superman Doomsday.
LAST STATEMENT: Snyder's Batman V. Superman is an incoherent mess with unnecessary prolonged sequences that just extends the time limit, but the great action and introduction to this universe's Batman, Lex Luthor, Alfred, Wonder Woman makes it up to be a worthy in theater experience for your time and money [but you'll most likely only see it once early in the morning so you can get started for the rest of the day]
Rating: 2.5/5 | 50%
Super Scene: Batman takes on a building brutally beating up bad guys to save a person in hostage.
